My late semester blues are at an all-time high as the semester drags on into its final month. However, this semester has been particularly unenjoyable for me because I decided to rip the Band-Aid off and take Bio-101 to fulfill my science general education requirement.
Though I am not upset at the university for requiring me, an English/Communications double major, to take a science course to be a more “well-rounded” student, I am upset that my schedule only had room for me to take Bio-101 instead of a more niche science course.
I mean no disrespect to the professors of the biology department and the STEM majors of St. Bonaventure, I’m sure you find this class very interesting and important, and I’m happy for you. However, I am bored out of my mind during Bio-101.
But no matter how much I complain about Bio and my late-night lab, I am thankful for it for this: I definitely know that I am in the right major.
I entered St. Bonaventure University as an “Undeclared Communications” major with the intention of declaring as a Journalism major once I got through most of my freshman year. After taking a few English courses and getting a great overview of the different comms. majors during my JMC-101 class, I decided to declare a double major in Strategic Communication and Literary Publishing & Editing (I know, it’s quite the mouthful). A bit different than what I originally envisioned, but I felt pretty confident that it was the right move.
Though this sounds like I had it pretty figured out, and I mostly thought I did too, I still experienced some doubts about my commitment to this field.
Yes, I did like many of my classes and found dedicating my time to excelling in them very enjoyable, but I still wondered if I was not tapping into a passion for a different major. To pile on to that, I tried out working with the on-campus broadcast TV station and was so overwhelmed by it I quit within a month.
Before, I had been confident that I would find my groove and grow to love the journalism process, but now some serious doubt was creeping in. Constantly having to explain to people back home what your major was and what you could do with it was getting exhausting, and the constant battle for a coveted paid internship does not make it any better. I found myself beginning to wonder, was I really cut out for a career in communications?
In high school and middle school, I had always found science classes extremely unenjoyable, with the exception of earth/environmental science. I love nature and hiking, and I have an interest in how to preserve the natural world and live sustainably. I had previously entertained the idea of being an environmental studies major but always shied away from it due to the course load and chemistry and physics requirements that usually came with it. However, just to test the waters, I had wanted to take Earth Science for my science credit, but it ended up not fitting into my schedule. So, I took the next easiest thing, Bio-101.
I figured there would be topics relating to plants and the environment along with human biology, but boy was I wrong. The lectures are long and incredibly boring to me, so I find it very hard to concentrate and take adequate notes. Labs are even longer and more confusing. I often times find myself leaving the classroom more disillusioned and confused than when I entered it. Though I am doing alright in the course, I derive absolutely no enjoyment from it.
Unlike my classes in the humanities, when I discuss the course outside of class with friends or fellow classmates, I don’t become animated with excitement about what I’ve learned, instead, I am always expressing my disdain for the course material and longing for the future relief for just finishing the course and never having to look at a cell division diagram again.
At the end of the day, however, I have to be thankful for this course as it has put my doubting feelings at ease when it comes to my major. I definitely know now that the STEM life is not for me. My strong dislike for my bio class only makes the academic stimulation I get from my major-specific classes shine through more. I am so in the right major; it has never been more obvious.
So, thank you Bio-101, for showing me I am exactly where I’m supposed to be.